Data & Analytics

San Mateo, Calif. -- Sony Network Entertainment International LLC and Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC have unveiled a new feature that enables users of participating mobile networks in Canada to top up their account wallet to purchase content from the PlayStation Store and across Sony Entertainment Network using a mobile phone account.

London – Big Data technology provider ECommera has named Kevin Sterneckert as chief marketing officer. Sterneckert, who most recently served as the lead retail analyst for Gartner, brings with him more than 20 years of experience in retail leadership.

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Versatile Systems, a multi-disciplinary technology company with solutions across the mobile, digital signage, IT infrastructure, software and hardware landscape, has appointed Vicki Turjan as chief financial officer.

The company is turning to Turjan to enhance its growth and increase operational efficiencies.

Zynga, a leading social game developer, has appointed former Best Buy executive David Lee as CFO and chief accounting officer, effective April 14. Lee will report directly to CEO Don Mattrick.

He succeeds CFO and CAO Mark Vranesh who is leaving the company. Vranesh will work with Lee over the next month to ensure a seamless transition of responsibilities, according to the company.

Staples has partnered with 3D Systems, a leading provider of 3D content-to-print solutions, to pilot 3D printing services in two stores in New York and Los Angeles.

Each store features an immersive 3D printing experience center that lets consumers and small businesses create personalized products and use 3D printing hardware. Customers can also bring in their own 3D print-ready files to have them printed.

The way people shop has completely changed over the past five years. A large part of this change in behavior has been driven by online access to information. Shoppers now have easy access to more product information than ever before. Yet as the modern buying experience has changed dramatically, the in-store experience at most retailers has remained frozen in time. In particular, most sales associates do not have tools at their disposal that might allow them to keep up with the information-empowered shoppers they now serve.
 

New York -- March was a so-so month for retailers, whose performance was impacted by unspring-like, cold temperatures in many parts of the country and a late Easter. (Easter falls on April 20 this year as opposed to March 31 last year.)

The eight retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters posted a 2.2% increase in March same-store sales, better than the expected 1.4% increase.

Fort Worth, Texas – Snowstorms that affected as many as two-thirds of the selling days in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 in some key markets dampened financial performance at Pier 1 Imports Inc.

Compared to the same period the prior year, net income fell 31% to $42.6 million from $61.7 million. Total sales fell 6% to $515.8 million from $551.6 million and same-store sales dropped 4.6%.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM Corp. announced it will acquire digital marketing technology provider Silverpop. The Atlanta-based Silverpop allows marketers to target highly personalized offers and promotions. IBM said the technology will enhance its enterprise marketing capabilities.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.